Time Will Tell
by trolltasm
Summary: Once, she'd fallen in love with a prince, in another life, another time. Yet now once again, she finds herself repeating the same folly, but this time, the fallout could be much, much worse... But there's something in his eyes that nearly has her willing to take the dive...


It seemed she would always be doomed to fall in love with a prince.

It was days like these when she did not know which was worse, loving a prince from afar but knowing he would never be hers, or guarding the door for the rest of time in solitude.

Setsuna could never be jealous of the queen, not when Neo-Queen Serenity tried so hard to ensure peace and longevity for earth with every iota of her heart, but Setsuna wished that she had the same opportunity the queen did to find a balance between love and duty.

The queen, after all, not only had the scouts, Small Lady, and her feline companions, but she also had the love of the only man Setsuna had ever loved, Prince Darien. Setsuna had known right away it was a doomed love; it was easy to see the prince had eyes for no one but the princess, but Setsuna had not been able to help herself. His strength and support had often made her wonder who was really protecting whom.

Guarding the door had given her heart a chance to heal after she'd failed to protect Darien as his bodyguard, but it had not soothed the loneliness she'd felt in the years since. Unlike the other scouts, Setsuna had not fallen in battle with Queen Beryl, and she bore her punishment guarding the door silently, accepting her failure.

She heard footsteps approaching and she knew who it was. Small Lady had already escaped to the past, and there was only one person who dared to near her small domain.

"You're late," she called out, shifting her staffed key from her left to her right hand.

She heard his chuckle escape from the mist looming around the forbidden door. "It took longer than I liked to ensure I had a proper gift to give you in greeting, Sailor Pluto."

He was here again, and she had no doubt that he had every intent of trying her door.

Curiosity got the better of her then, even though she knew she shouldn't encourage him further. He was the one responsible for the sleep of the queen, for the disappearance of Small Lady, and for the wounds of the king.

And yet, she was lonely and desperate enough to grasp onto anything offered to her for as long as she was able to do so. Thus, she allowed him closer instead of attacking him as she should have, with a small prayer for forgiveness from her queen.

"You're not welcome here, Diamond, you know that," she told him, but she made no movements to force him to leave just yet.

No one was supposed to find the door without her assistance, and yet, Prince Diamond had already done so several times before. Though he was unable to use the door so long as she kept up her vigilant guard, that didn't seem to stop him from occasionally popping by to remind her that, somehow, he could.

"Relax, Guardian," he told her, and she hated the way his melodic voice flowed through her. "Your queen has escaped me yet again. And," he sighed dramatically, "it seems that once again, she may be out of my reach."

She didn't believe he'd quit so easily—this was the man who managed to single-handedly (if she excluded the Wise Man) bring ruin to the beautiful millennial kingdom, and nearly bring about the deaths of the Inner Scouts and the Royal Family in the process.

She closed her eyes to hide a wince.

"Stay away from here, Diamond," she repeated after a moment, opening her eyes to see his gentle smile.

He ignored her and pulled something from inside his sleeve. "Your door is a welcome reprieve," he told her, stepping forward as he offered her a single rose from his sleeve.

She was relieved to see that it was purple, instead of red.

There was a flash of a red rose and a white mask in her mind for a moment, but then she blinked and found Diamond standing before her.

"Don't think about anyone else," he whispered, gently caressing her hand and staff with the soft petals of the rose. "I only offer a rose, nothing more." He pulled back to press the rose to his forehead for a moment. "My third eye is silent, Sailor Pluto, because we both know too well the dangers now of coercion."

"Why?" She licked her lips, trying to ignore the intensity of his eyes. Even without utilizing his third eye, his gaze was steady, strong, and compelling.

She didn't trust him. Somehow, he must have realized his normal tactics wouldn't win him the door, and so now he stood in front of her, attempting to explore other means.

If there was one thing, however, that she never intended to do again, it was to become enamored with a prince.

"No thank you," she told him, rejecting both his promise and his flower as she turned her head to stare at the double doors.

The doors of time: the embodiment of her duty—the reminder that she must never, ever falter. Her heart must always remain her own, and her spirit must always remain closed. Pluto was the loneliest planet, so it was only fitting that she remain the loneliest scout as penance for her failures.

Once, she would have been relieved by another Plutonian princess, but there were no more queens or princesses on Pluto, and there was no one else to carry on her duty. Her mother was dead, and she would have no sisters, no children, to carry on the burden that Pluto bore.

"You're as lonely as I am," he whispered into her ear, and she did her best not to shiver or look back at him. "Loving one who would never love you back, doomed to be alone. I offer you a chance to defy the fate destiny has offered you, Pluto."

Setsuna shook her head. "No," she whispered, and then repeated louder, "No. I have my duty, Diamond, and I will not back away from it. Your temptation is nothing to me."

He sighed as he gently forced her to turn her head and look at him. "I am not compelling or tempting you, not yet," he said, as his voice dropped dangerously low. "But if you want so badly to be tempted, allow me to show you the passion you've been denied."

He lowered his head and, though he gently cradled her head in his hands, he did nothing else to try and force her to accept the gentle kiss he left on her lips.

"See? Harmless, but beguiling," he breathed against her lips. He nipped her lower lip gently before one of his hands slid to the back of her head to tilt her head for his second kiss.

This one was longer, and it slowly became deeper. For the first time, she didn't think of the king, nor did she pull away. She wasn't caught up in passion or lust—nor, she suspected, was Diamond himself.

Instead, she gently drifted away as his other hand left her cheek to gently cup her waist.

" _This_ is passion, Pluto," he whispered as he deepened the kiss and slid his tongue to join hers. "Don't you want to kiss me back?"

Against her will, she found herself doing just that, though she was slow and hesitant at first.

She didn't know how long they kissed, but he didn't push for more, and eventually, he allowed her to turn her head away and pull air back into her lungs. He didn't, however, allow her to fully pull away. Instead, he kept her cradled to him as he occasionally pressed gentle kisses into her neck and shoulder.

"I have not felt like this in such a long time," he breathed against her. "Not desiring to _own_ , just savor."

Setsuna caught a glimpse then, of the man he must have been before Wise Man had exerted his influence over the prince. She could see enough of his gentle smile, and the quiet heat in his eyes, even as she felt the soft caresses of his hands against her neck and waist. Without the mania in his eyes, he looked younger, but stronger, and carried himself every bit as royal and regal as the queen herself.

She never thought one of the Dark Moon kingdom could be so caring, so soft, and, against her will, she felt her heart weaken.

 _Not to another prince_ , she cried out to herself. _Not again._

"Don't," she whispered, moving one hand to press against his lips and stop his little kisses. "I'm not the one you want."

He allowed her to push his head far enough away from his neck that he could now completely meet her gaze. "Neither is she," he replied, referring to her queen. "All I want is for my people to be free. To live, to learn, to love as your earth people do."

The sincerity in his eyes nearly convinced her, but she knew better than to trust Diamond now.

"The Wise Man—" she protested, but Diamond cut her off.

"Sapphire's right; he's using us," he said quietly, "and I've been a fool to let my obsessions allow him that much control. But you, Pluto, with your sense of time—whenever I'm here, I feel my old self return more and more, by and by."

"Then it'll just fade when you leave, and you'll be a shadow of _this_ once more." She shook her head and tried to pull back, but his grip on her tightened just enough to prevent that.

"Then give me a reason to stay, Pluto." He pulled her tighter into a hug, just enough that she was properly secured against any escape.

"Setsuna," she corrected before she thought better of giving him the name she'd once had before she'd taken up the titles of Sailor Pluto, and Guardian of Time.

"Setsuna," he repeated. "I cannot break Wise Man's grip on my own." He took in a deep breath of air before he sighed again. "There are too many years now. But you're stronger than I am, and so are your scouts and your queen. Save me, Setsuna, and let me _live_ again."

He bent down to kiss her once more, and once again, she couldn't push him away. Instead, she pulled him closer, and though she never once dropped her staff, she wrapped both it and her arms as tightly as she could against him.

 _If you can be saved, I will_ , she vowed to herself, b _ecause I am weak against the love of a prince, no matter how badly it will end for me._

 _Or maybe_ , she amended to herself, _this time it will be different. Maybe this time, my love will be enough_.

.

 _A/N: This idea more or less just came with me and I took it and ran. I liked the idea of redeeming Diamond without resulting in his death and, well, I think Sailor Pluto in general just deserves more love._

 _The sad part is, I've written two stories now for Pluto, and despite what I thought before writing this, I actually like her better with Sapphire. Not sure how I should feel about that, but there it is._


End file.
